THEFT AND ITS INVERSE RELATION TO ATTENTION

A landlord owned among other properties of his a small isolated coconut garden. For long years he could not harvest the nuts for his use or sale. Before they were fully ripe all of them used to be stolen. This garden is sandwiched between two labour settlements from which it is futile to try to protect the nuts. The landlord used to harvest the nuts before they were ripe and use them as tender coconuts, for purposes of drinking. He was vexed in his attempts to stop pilfering and therefore stopped tending the garden. Recently he took to Mother and there were very happy changes in his general life, business life, life as a landlord except for two aspects of which this was one. To help maintain progress in life and take it to higher levels, it is necessary that at the present plane of activities loopholes such as this need to be plugged.

It was erroneous on his part to have left the garden to itself. He neglected it and the neglect got itself organised. It was suggested to him that he visit the garden for a short while every day for a week. While at the garden it is desirable that he takes a good full look at each tree or at least each row of trees. He must regret having neglected the trees and try to think of the garden and the trees during the course of the day as often as possible. The trees, he was told, would certainly respond to this attention; but if his attention could be genuine interest in their lives as a plant, it is desirable.

Some weeks later he reported that thefts have stopped completely and after a long time he had his first ever harvest! He explained that there were four ring leaders in the area who had been sharing this garden among themselves. One of them was caught in some electric shock and was no longer valid for purposes of nocturnal tree climbing. In the other's locality, civic consciousness made itself felt and in the local panchayat it was decided that no one should indulge in such activities anymore. The other two seemed to have turned a new leaf and felt regret for their past.

The philosophical part of this episode is after all the landlord refused to evince continued interest when it became impossible for him to be properly remunerated by the trees. The pilferers think all day of the trees. The trees have responded to the attention issuing out of the pilferers' mind. When attention in the shape of physical visits, mental thought was coming from the landlord, the trees have readily responded with gratitude. Attention from the landlord is of greater intensity and of higher value as his consciousness is superior to that of the pilferers. In this case the landlord being a devotee, he carries Mother's Consciousness in his thought.

Normally theft in one's property takes place when sleep is indulged in during the day. This incident is illustrative of another dimension to theft.